A Timely Lesson
by roseannacharlotte
Summary: AU. When Harry's name is pulled out of the goblet of fire he finds himself pacing in a certain corridor. When Harry and his friends step through the door they find themselves in a different time where they are able to learn and train and grow stronger. But will they ever find their way back? And if they do, will they even want to leave? Gryffindor!Luna G and L are also fourth years
1. Prologue

"Harry mate; stop pacing. We know you didn't put your name in that goblet."

"I know you believe me Ron, but no one else does."

"And there's something else. Who did put Harry's name in? And why?"

"I overheard McGonagall say to Sprout tat someone must have cast a confundus and a compulsion charm on the goblet to make it produce a fourth champion."

"They'd have to be powerful charms to affect such an old and magical artefact." Harry turned to walk back past the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy for the third time as his friends talked. Luna's dreamy voice suddenly disrupted their discussion.

"Was that door there a minute ago?" Five heads turned to look in the direction Luna was pointing.

"But there aren't any classrooms in this corridor. That's why we came here."

"I don't think it's a classroom. We should take a look."

"Is that really a good idea?"

"It's an excellent idea. Come on!" Hermione outvoted, the six fourth years gathered around the new door. It was Ginny who reached out a slightly shaky hand and opened the door. The six stepped through quickly before they could change their minds.

"How did we go from the seventh floor to the great hall?"

"What happened to the house tables?" The six friends were stood where the Gryffindor table ought to be but the hall was currently empty. The staff table wasn't even there. A creaking noise indicated the doors to the hall opening. Conversation drifted into the room.

"…prepare for the new school year, Salazar."

"We still have two days before the students return Rowena. There is still plenty of time."

"After all.." But whatever the blonde had been about to say died in her throat as she entered the room and saw six teenagers, wearing what seemed to be a uniform, stood there. Instead she asked who they were.

"Who are you talking to Helga?" Another lady and two gentlemen followed the blonde into the room. The four young adults seemed rather surprised to find students in the Great Hall. Hermione, who had heard the names the four had been using and had put two and two together, stepped forward.

"Excuse me. Please could you tell me what year it is please?" Being rather nervous about the answer caused her to repeat her pleases.

"Why it's the year 902. How can you not know that?"

"Well you see, we were in the year 1994 what seems to us just a few minutes ago." Hermione explained to the strangers, who she had realised were in fact the four founders of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"How do we get back?" It was Luna who answered Ron's rather frantic question.

"I think we'll have to find that door again. But I don't think it will appear until we are ready to go back."

"What in merlin's name is that supposed to mean? When we're ready? I'm more than ready to go home I assure you Luna Lovegood!" Ron was not pleased to find himself in the past at all.

"I mean when we're prepared to face what's waiting in our time. There are many challenges we will face when we go back. I think that door sent us here so we could train for the future and grow stronger." Ginny interrupted her brother and best friend by starting to introduce the six teens to the founders.

Once the introductions had been completed, Helga took the six students and gave them a guest suite in the very place where Dumbledore would one day have his office. Exhausted from the commotion of the evening, and the unexpected timetravelling, all six quickly drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter One

A/N: I am aware that there is a continuity error between this chapter and the prologue. Once I've gotten this story complete, I will go back and edit it to correct any errors such as that one. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 1:

When Ginny Weasley awoke she found herself surrounded by purple bed hangings. This rather confused the youngest Weasley, who usually had red curtains around her bed in the Gryffindor dormitories. Finny lay staring at the curtains for a few moments before she recalled the events of the previous evening and the fact that she was in the place where Dumbledore's office would one day be, in the time of the founders. It also occurred to Ginny how young the founders had looked; Hogwarts could not have been open for very long.

A sigh from one of the other beds told the youngest Weasley sibling that she wasn't the only one awake. The red head slipped off her bed and went over to the one the sigh had come from.

"Luna, are you awake?" she whispered softly. Luna slipped off the bed and looked at her best friend.

"Did it really happen Ginny? Did we really meet the founders last night?" Luna seemed anxious.

"Yes Luna it really did happen. We really met the founders last night. It feels like a dream; I keep thinking if I pinch myself I'll wake up in my bed in our dorm and the champions will not have been announced." As Ginny's words reminded the two girls of the events leading to their arrival in the past, they shot each other worried looks.

A load sneeze made the two girls jump. They turned as Ron climbed off one of the beds, apologising quietly for startling the younger girls. Ron's sneezing must have woken the others up as there was now movement from the other three beds.

"What's happening? Where am I? What's going on?" they heard harry yell. Harry jumped off the bed he had slept in, wand in hand, prepared to fight a non-existent foe. When the Boy-Who-Lived saw his friends he relaxed and allowed his wand to drop to his side. A look of comprehension crossed his face as Harry obviously recalled the events of the previous night.

"Umm," Harry began but was interrupted before he could actually say anything by the opening of the door. Ladies Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw entered the room. Gryffindor and Slytherin were not with them.

"You missed breakfast," Hufflepuff informed the six time-travellers. She summoned a house elf who popped away and returned with breakfast for the six students.

"Here are your timetables." Lady Ravenclaw placed six pieces of parchment on the table and the two founders left the room.

"Breakfast." The rest of the group smiled indulgently at their redheaded friend. Hermione picked up their timetables and started looking over them. Ginny noticed a frown cross her friend's forehead.

"What's up 'Mione?" the younger girl asked. Wordlessly the brunette handed out the timetables to the group of friends. Each looked at the parchment they held carefully to spot what it was that had perturbed Hermione. Hermione, meanwhile, began to alphabetically list each of the subjects mentioned on the rather full timetables that worked on a three week rotation. They would be studying animagi; apparition; archery; arithmancy; astronomy; banking; Centaurian; Charms; dragon riding; Duelling; eleven tongue; etiquette; Gobbledegook; Greek; healing; herbology; history; invisibility; jousting; Latin; politics; potions; runes; sword fighting; and transfiguration. That was a total of twenty five different subjects. It was more subjects than she'd studied in third year but at least the rotating three week timetables meant no time turner was necessary. Suddenly she noticed that Ron looked about to Hyperventilate.

"Um Ronald, you need to breathe now," she told him. Ron let out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding.

"We should get ready for classes. We're already late for potions," pointed out Luna in her usually dreamy manner.

"We've got nothing clean to wear though," Ginny noted thoughtfully. "And we slept in our uniforms." A level of disgust in the girl's tone made it clear that she didn't wish to keep her slept in uniform on for the rest of the day. Just then a knock came at the door.

"Come in," Harry called out, curious to see who might be there.

"Lady Ravenclaw thought you might all be in need of fresh clothing." A young woman entered the room as she spoke, two piles of clothes floating along beside her. The two piles then both split into three and each of the six bundles of clothing was set upon one of the beds in the room.

"Is there anything else you need?" the girl asked. Once they had assured her they were fine the girl dropped a curtsey. "Milords. Miladies." Then she was gone again.

The time travellers all looked at each other in confusion. It appeared that there were human servants at Hogwarts rather than house elves. Hermione rather approved.

They had been standing staring at each other in confusion for some minutes when by some unspoken mutual agreement they all moved over to the beds they had slept in and picked up the clothing lady Ravenclaw had sent them. It was not at all what the time travellers were used to wearing. Each of the girls had a white chemise which went under the other layers of clothing. The next item was the kirtle and there was an embroidered gown to go over the top. They each had several belts and lots of jewellery. A pair of soft brown leather slip on shoes completed the outfits. Luna had a pale green kirtle and a forest green gown with golden embroidery. Ginny's kirtle was sky blue and her gown navy with silver embroidery. Hermione's outfit was in purple, the kirtle in lavender and the gown darker also with silver embroidery. The girl's took these things into the bathroom attached to the chamber they were in and help each other change into the unfamiliar things.

The boys clothing was much simpler to work out. They each had a pair of tight fitting black trousers and black leather boots as well as a black belt. Harry had a navy tunic, Ron's was purple and Neville's was forest green. Harry couldn't help wondering whether or not there was a reason the boy's tunics matched the girl's gowns.

The boys had to wait about ten minutes before the girl's finally emerged fully dressed and each with her hair pulled loosely back in a similar style to that which the ladies Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had had their hair.

"Well I reckon we've probably missed potions by now, perhaps we should go straight to the next class. What do we have?" asked Ginny.

"Elven tongue apparently," replied Neville looking at his parchment. "Did any of you realise house elves had their own language?" A chorus of 'no's formed the rest of the group's response. The group walked the rest of the way to the classroom in nervous silence.

When they reached the classroom the door was open so they went straight in. The teacher was stood at the front of the classroom with her back to them so all the time travellers could see of her was a sheet of white blonde hair that fell all the way to her feet. She turned around when they entered the classroom and smiled at them. It was Hermione who noticed that her ears were pointed. Now Hermione, being an avid reader, had of course read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series and realised that the elves from middle earth also existed on the real earth. Hermione couldn't help wondering what had happened to all the elves in their own time. She'd never met one and she'd never heard anyone talk about them. The elfin teacher smiled at her new pupils.

"Please take a seat, let us begin."

After Elven tongue, it was time for lunch which was known in those days as dinner. For breakfast there had simply been bread and butter and they had all been hungry enough not to notice the difference from the food of their own time period. At dinner however, differences began to make themselves known. Each student was given a bowl of stew for dinner with bread and butter to mop up the juices. When Ron asked one of the other students what the stew was made from, the student gave him a strange look and told him it was rabbit. Neville went rather green at that.

The seating arrangement was also confusing to the six time travellers. It appeared that the tradition of sorting students into houses had not yet begun so everyone just sat anywhere. Even the teacher's sat mixed up with students. There were only three long tables and these had been arranged to form a u-shape in the centre of the hall. This meant there was less separation of people than there would be in the future.

The time travellers had a third surprise when they realised that the elven tongue professor was not the only non-human in the hall. In fact there were several elves, a few centaurs and even a dozen goblins.

After dinner, Slytherin and Hufflepuff came over to the time travellers.

"Since it seems your stay here may be of some duration, we think it may be worth your purchasing some personal items that you may need whilst you are here. You have been excused for the rest of the day so Helga and I will accompany you to Hogsmede and help you find the necessities."


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2:

Hogsmede had changed a lot in a thousand years. It probably should have been obvious but the six time-travellers hadn't really been expecting it. Apparently a lot of the village had been lost over the years because it was a lot bigger than any of the group remembered it being. There were also some large manor type properties surrounding the village. A large marble building at one end of the main street caught Hermione's eye and she realised with a fair amount of shock that this was a branch of Gringotts bank.

Slytherin lead the students first of all to the blacksmith. Here the founder asked the smith to find suitable swords and daggers for each of the students. Once this had been done the group made their way to the woodworkers were bows and arrows were purchased. The next stop was the wand makers. Here each student was provided with a couple of extra wands and several wand holsters which could be attached in various ways; to the wrist, the ankle, the thigh or the waist. Clothing was considered an unnecessary purchase as it could, and would, be provided daily by the school. Potions ingredients and cauldrons would also be provided. This meant the final stop was the book shop so the course books could be purchased. Once this was done the group returned to the school; Slytherin in the lead and Hufflepuff bringing up the rear.

Hermione dropped back as they walked in order to talk to Lady Hufflepuff. She had wondered why they were the only students in elven tongue earlier that day and intended to ask the founder about it. She also wished to know why there were so many subjects on the timetable.

"We use a spell to tailor each timetable to the student so that they are in a class suitable to their ability. If there were no other students in your class it was because none of them are at the same level as you in Elven Tongue. And all new students start out with many subjects and drop those they master as they master them. I suspect some of what we currently teach has been forgotten over time so the spell on the timetables is trying to catch you up with our curriculum." Hermione was thoughtful after hearing this explanation and the founder didn't interrupt her musings.

When they reached the castle the time travellers returned to the chamber they had woken up in to put away their new things. They discovered that whilst they were out the castle, which Lady Ravenclaw had told them was semi-sentient, had changed the chamber into two separate chambers. One chamber for the boys and one chamber for the girls. Each of the bedchambers had its own bathroom and a small chamber containing desks and a dining table connected them.

"Ron, may I see your timetable please?" Hermione asked. She had been thinking on what Hufflepuff had told her and was curious to see if all their timetables were the same. Ron was confused but gave Hermione the piece of paper with his classes on it anyway.

"Um does anyone other than Ron have divination?" Hermione interrupted her friends as they were about to start speaking. The others all glanced at their own timetables before answering in the negative. Hermione Granger fainted as the implication of Ron studying divination in the founder's era struck her. The other five time travellers felt rather shocked when their friend passed out; Hermione Granger was not the kind of person who fainted.

"What was that about?" Neville voiced what everyone else was thinking.

"I think Hermione's just realised that Ron's a seer," Luna told the others.

"I'm a what?" questioned Ron.

"A seer," replied Luna in a tone that suggested it should really be obvious. Seeing the confused looks that still graced her conscious friends faces, Luna gave a long suffering sigh. "Have none of you noticed that anytime Ron makes up a prediction for his divination homework, it tends to come true. Not necessarily when he says it will or to the person he says it's going to happen too but it does come true." The other time travellers thought back to instances of Ron predicating stuff and realised that Luna was right.

A groan heralded Hermione's return to consciousness. Ginny decided she would tease her friend mercilessly about her fainting fit. Amid the bantering the group walked to supper where they were able, now that they were less surprised by the non-humans present, to pay attention to the other students. The group were astonished to notice the mix of nationalities in the room. It seemed that young wizards and witches from around the world had travelled all the way to Scotland to attend Hogwarts.

"Of course. Hogwarts is currently the only Wizarding School in the world. It was the first one you know." Hermione shared her remembered fact with her friends.

It had been a pretty busy first day in the middle ages and the time travellers were pretty tired by the time they returned to their chambers. Slytherin had explained that men at that time simply wore to sleep the trousers they had been wearing during the day whilst women wore nightgowns which would be provided for the girls. Each dressed for bed, the time travellers pulled shut the curtains on their four poster beds and each was asleep as soon as their head hit the pillow.

The time travellers all had double dragon riding after breakfast the following morning. Godric had introduced them to the dragon riding instructor at breakfast so he could lead them down to the dragon pen. Professor Plaice was a large bear of a man with a messy black beard and hair. Hermione suspected he might be a Viking. The gruff professor lead the six students across the lawn to the place where the forbidden forest would one day be. Instead of forest there was simply an enormous patch of grass surrounded by a simple wooden fence. Within the fenced off area were rather more than a few dragons. The time travellers paused feeling even more uncertain now they could see the beasts.

"Right then," began Professor Plaice. "Let's start with the basics. You cannot ride a dragon if there is no bond with the dragon. Today you will be getting to know the dragon herd and seeing if you form a bond with any of them. Don't worry if none of them bond with you, we can always get more brought over." Ron and Ginny shared a doubtful look. Their brother Charlie was a dragon handler on a reserve in Romania and they had heard plenty of stories about dragon's dislike of humans.

"Hagrid would love this," Harry thought aloud. The mention of the future gamekeeper spread a melancholy across the group as the realisation that they would be unable to see all their friends and families for some time hit home.

To distract themselves, the students entered the dragon pen and following the professor's instructions began to try and establish a connection with a dragon. Though they had all been sceptical at first, by the end of the lesson each time traveller had bonded with a dragon and they were reluctant to leave. Professor Plaice reminded them that it was in fact a double period class and began to teach them how to mount their dragon.

After Dragon Riding, the time travellers returned to the castle for a lesson in animagi. Lady Ravenclaw taught this class. The first lesson of animagi was about finding the animal the student would turn into. To do this, each student was given a bowl of water and told to meditate with their eyes open, focusing on 'the animal inside'. It took most of the lesson but Luna was first to see an animal's image in the water. The animal Luna saw was an occamy; a serpentine creature that could grow to fill its environment. Next was Ron who saw a Hippogriff in his bowl. Ginny then saw a diricawl; the magical bird known to the muggles as the dodo. Hermione found she would be able to become a phoenix. Harry saw a skeletal black horse with bat like wings which would usually only be visible to those who had witnessed death. Finally Neville's image appeared and Lady Ravenclaw told the boy that the eagle like bird was in fact a Thunderbird which could create storms just by flapping its wings.

The rest of the day passed quickly as did the rest of the week. The time travellers quickly settled into the routine of life in the middle ages learning ancient and forgotten magic as well as how to fight muggle style. They never totally forgot home but gradually the homesickness lessened until they were settled into their new way of life.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter 3:

It transpired that October 31st was not known as Halloween in the founder's time but as Samhain. Samhain was in fact a festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker winter months. Classes were cancelled for the day and the teachers built an enormous bonfire outside the school. As darkness fell, everyone gathered outside. The founders stepped forwards and together lit the Bonfire whilst speaking traditional ceremonial words. The students and teachers from that time joined in at certain points. Hermione was vaguely reminded of the time her parents had taken her to the Christingle service in the church in her hometown.

Once the bonfire had been lit and the ceremonial words spoken, Gryffindor offered his hand to Ravenclaw and Slytherin offered his hand to Hufflepuff. The founders began to dance together and were soon joined by other teachers. The students joined in as well. The rest of the night was given to dancing round the campfire. Even the time travellers joined in. Harry found himself mainly dancing with Ginny, whilst Ron mostly danced with Hermione and Neville tended to dance with Luna. As had been the case every day of their sojourn in the past, each of the dancing couples was dressed in the same coloured clothing as their partner.

Every outfit the time-travellers had worn in the past so far had been provided for them by Lady Ravenclaw, who happened to be Ron's Divination teacher. Harry had been the first to notice, and to wonder about, the coordinating outfits of the male and female time-travellers. Gradually the others had begun to notice the strange coincidence as well. Ron denied any foreknowledge of why the outfits coordinated all the time.

Ginny was the one whose guess hit closest to the mark though none of the time-travellers knew that. She had been talking with one of the other female students her age who had told her she was to be betrothed at the end of the school year. The other student hadn't known who she was to be betrothed too but had mentioned that she would have to have a new wardrobe made up to suit her betrothed's clothing. Ginny had then jokingly suggested to her friends that Lady Ravenclaw had decided they should each marry the other.

"Maybe Lady Ravenclaw wants us to appear betrothed to each other so none of the pther students try to get us to be betrothed to them?" This was Neville's suggestion and it was generally agreed to be the most likely option. After all, betrothals seemed to be commonplace amongst the students of a similar age to the time travellers. It hadn't occurred to any of them when they arrived in the past that at this time people got married at a younger age than in their own.

The dancing lasted well past midnight and eventually people began to sit down, watching the bonfire and chatting with their friends. They also lay back to star watch and at some point or other, they all fell asleep on the lawn outside the castle, with the bonfire' s bright blaze keeping them warm.

When Hermione woke on November 1st she realised a little girl about six years old lay near her. The child looked a lot like Lady Ravenclaw. As Hermione looked at the girl, she opened her eyes and grinned at Hermione. Hermione found herself grinning back.

"Hello, I'm Helena," the girl said.

"I'm Hermione," replied the owner of that name.

"That's pretty," the girl smiled.

"Thank you," responded Hermione as she sat up. Helena came over and sat on Hermione's lap.

"Tell me a story."

"What's the magic word?"

"Lumos," giggled Helena. Hermione laughed as well. When she had control of her laughter, Hermione began to tell Helena the story of Cinderella. She kept Cinderella as a muggle but changed the fairy Godmother in the story into a witch who had attended Hogwarts.

As Hermione concluded her story, she looked up to realise she had accumulated a larger audience. Her audience didn't just consist of the under elevens either; most of the school had gathered around to listen to the girl speak. It was then Hermione realised that the story of Cinderella hadn't actually been written by that point in time.

"Well, I think it might be time for breakfast," commented Lord Slytherin breaking the silence that followed Hermione's tale. Everyone rose at once and began to make their way inside. Hermione couldn't help thinking how much more decorous it was than it would have been in the future.

After that morning, Helena idolised Hermione. The little girl, who turned out to be Lady Ravenclaw's daughter, spent as much of her free time with the time travellers as possible and they all grew fond of the lively child. Hermione was especially fond of the girl and considered her like a little sister.

Hermione had also discovered a talent for storytelling; a talent which had gained her popularity throughout the school and on weekends and special occasions, she was often asked up to the dais after a feast so she could tell a story. Usually the stories she told were fairy tales, twisted a little so that witches and wizards of Hogwarts School were part of the tale. Occasionally she would retell stories she had read in the future. She particularly enjoyed making the Pevensie siblings Hogwarts students and placing the wardrobe in an empty classroom instead of a spare bedroom.

Hermione was not the only time traveller to discover hidden talents in the past. Ron, of course, had discovered he was a seer, but it also turned out he showed great promise with a sword and was putting in extra practice as often as he could. Ginny had also discovered a weapon based skill; though hers was with a bow and arrow. She had yet to miss and bullseye and Hermione had commented that if she didn't know better she'd swear Ginny was using Susan's enchanted bow. Luna it transpired was a whizz at languages and quickly moved into more advanced classes in those subjects. Neville's passion for Herbology became more apparent over the months they spent in the past and translated into a fair amount of skill at healing. The boy also discovered, with the help of Salazar Slytherin, that potions made a lot more sense looking at it from a herbology standpoint. Neville suddenly realised he was quite good at potion making. Harry, who had always been amazing on a broomstick, realised he could also ride a dragon without issue. Anything with a weapon, Harry found himself to be fairly good at as well, but it was in duelling where Harry really shone. This was a talent harry was pleased to cultivate and spent a lot of time practicing. Harry was well aware that one day it might come in use against the Dark Lord Voldemort.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter 4:

Luna woke one Thursday in December to notice that there seemed to be more light than usual. The girl sat up looking around in confusion. The light was coming from Ginny's bed but seemed to be heading from there to the door.

The girl got up to go and investigate this strange phenomenon. Opening the door of the girls' bedchamber revealed that the light continued into the boys' chamber. Luna crept over to that chamber door and quietly opened it. The light went to the bed in the middle of the room, though Luna didn't know which bed was which. As quietly as she could, Luna crept over to the bed and peered between the hangings. Harry lay there fast asleep and dreaming of something or other. Luna snuck back out of the room and into the small common area to think.

A knock sounded on the outer door of the chambers and Luna quickly answered it. A serving girl stood there levitating six piles of clothes beside her and carrying a basket for the dirty ones they had worn the day before. The girl looked curiously at the light then turned to Luna.

"Is everything alright miss? Do you want me to fetch Lady Ravenclaw?" Rowena Ravenclaw was noted as a healer as well as being one of the foremost minds in magic of the time. She knew more about magical theory than anyone else did.

"Yes, please fetch her immediately," Luna replied. It took about ten minutes for Lady Ravenclaw to arrive and in that time Ron had woken up but none of the others had. When Lady Ravenclaw did appear, she had Helena with her. Helena immediately darted into the girls' sleeping quarters and set about waking Hermione up.

Lady Ravenclaw looked at the light connecting Harry and Ginny.

"It is a bonding," she declared after a moment.

"A bonding?" questioned Hermione as she and Helena entered the corridor where Luna and Rowena stood. The founder suggested the group move into the common room and take seats so they did.

"Your friends are currently undergoing a bonding. They are being bound in magic and in life. Bonds can be different depending on the two people involved. There can be sibling bonds or parental bonds but the most common sort of bond is a soulmate bond. Soulmate bonds can have varying levels including marriage; which I believe is the bonding your friends are currently undergoing."

"So you're telling us that Harry and Ginny are now married?" queried Luna, wanting to be sure she had understood the Founder's spiel.

"Yes," replied Lady Ravenclaw.

"Mum is not going to be happy when she finds out about this," muttered Ron.

"When she finds out about what?" Neville entered the room as he asked the question, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Harry and Ginny and married," Luna told her friend.

"We are?" two voices asked simultaneously.

"Yes," replied several voices.

"You were just bonded together. You are now married. Congratulations!" Lady Ravenclaw explained. Harry and Ginny shared looks of confusion.

"But we've not even dated!" stated Ginny.

"Well dear, it seems Magic wants the two of you together, even if you don't want it yet," Lady Ravenclaw said as she stood up. "I shall see you all shortly for breakfast." Her pointed look reminded the group that they were all still wearing night things. As the Ravenclaws left, the time travellers dispersed to change into day clothes.

Harry and Ginny were unsure how to react to the news of their sudden and unexpected marriage bond. The two had been friends since Ginny and Ron had entered Harry's compartment on the _Hogwarts Express_ in their first year. Harry had assumed at first that the brother and sister were twins; not surprising given that they were in the same school year and had older brothers who were twins. He had been surprised to discover that they were actually almost a year apart in age. Ron had been born the September before Ginny, whose birthday was in August.

There had never been anything but friendship between any of the six who had found themselves in the Founders' time. But now, Harry and Ginny were bonded in marriage and both found themselves becoming awkward and blushing when they had to talk to the other. They spent most of that day attempting to avoid each other's eyes. Others in the group found themselves babbling to cover the awkward silences that kept occurring.

When the six returned to their chambers after supper they discovered the rooms had changed again. There were now only two beds in each of the dorm rooms and an extra room had appeared. This extra room contained a double bed.

"This must be for us Ginny," stated Harry, looking at the red haired girl for the first time that day. "Since we're apparently married now." Ginny had always been fair-skinned but she seemed especially pale at this moment. She gave a nod however and the group said their goodnights to one another before separating into the three bedchambers.

Harry waited until he and Ginny were both sitting on their new bed before initiating a conversation with his new wife.

"Are you okay Ginny?"

"I think so. Or at least, I will be. When I've had some time to get used to this. It all happened rather suddenly."

"I know what you mean. It was a bit of a shock this morning. And we're so young. Too young to, you know…" Harry trailed off, blushing crimson. Ginny's face matched her hair as she realised what Harry meant.

"Nothing says we have to do that yet," she mumbled in embarrassment.

"You're right. Ginny, I know we didn't choose this, but I think we ought to try and make it work. I heard some of the other guys talking about courtship and wooing ladies. Maybe if we try some old fashioned romance, we might find we learn to love each other in that way and not just as friends?" Harry suggested. Ginny agreed to the experiment and the newly-weds went to sleep.

The following day, Harry began his 'courtship' of Ginny. The boy escorted his new wife everywhere, taking her out to the walled garden that no longer existed in their own time for a stroll. The couple went on long walks, and talked about anything and everything under the sun. It was very cold outside in Scotland in December but neither Harry nor Ginny seemed to mind. Lady Ravenclaw had provided all of the six time travellers with fur lined cloaks that kept them far warmer than their usual cloaks would have done.

Harry would have liked to bring Ginny flowers as he knew they were a traditional romantic gesture. December was the wrong season for gathering flowers however, and at this point in time greenhouses had yet to be invented.

The other four time travellers had had varying reactions to the new couple. Luna had taken the bonding in her stride; she was as unfazed by it as she had been by their arrival in the past. Hermione thought it was very sweet; she had known that Ginny had always had a slight crush on Harry, even if Ginny never acted on it. Neville was surprised and confused but was happy for his friends anyway. Ron, however was conflicted. On the one hand this was his little sister and his brothers and he had always been overprotective of her. On the other hand, Harry was his best mate and had always been as protective of Ginny, Luna and Hermione as if they were all his sisters. Ron was trying not to get angry at Harry about the situation but it was hard work. He kept wanting to yell at the other boy to stay away from his sister.

Finally Christmas day came and the group gathered in their common area to open presents. Harry had bought Ginny a beautiful golden ring after they became married by bond.

After breakfast the six time travellers went outside, where they were joined by Helena and some of their other friends, and started a snowball fight. The students were all cold and tired by twelve of the clock and all went inside to change into dry clothing for the Christmas Feast which would start at two.

The feast was, of course, delicious and went on for several hours. It was traditional in this time for feasts to have many courses as opposed to the two courses the six time travellers were used to. Between each course there was entertainment; minstrels singing carols; some of the students performed the Nativity play; there was a display of magic by some of the teachers.

When the feast was over everyone headed back to their chambers for a rest. Harry and Ginny were walking more slowly than their friends and soon got left behind. The couple were talking quietly together and not paying attention to where they were walking. It was Ginny who suddenly looked up and realised they were in a part of the castle she didn't recognise. Harry looked around then looked up. The teenager made sure he had his wife attention then pointed at the mistletoe they stood under, silently asking her consent. Ginny leaned forward and kissed her husband for the first time. That first kiss was sweet and gentle and lasted no more than thirty seconds. The second kiss was far more passionate and lasted a lot longer.

When Harry and Ginny finally made it back to their chamber, their cheeks were slightly pink. The other four time travellers had decided to pretend nothing was amiss with their friends and were gathered around the chess table. Luna faced off against Ron; Hermione was helping Luna and Neville was helping Ron. Ginny walked over and sat behind her oldest friend whilst her husband took a place next to her brother. The girls vs. boys chess tournament was fairly begun.

Winter continued peacefully on. The six time travellers continued to learn magic and other skills that had been forgotten in the future. Harry continued to court his wife and the couple fell deeper into love every day, even if they weren't totally aware that that was how they felt yet. All of the six kept an eye out for the reappearance of the door that had brought them to the past. Well, all but Luna actually. Luna had always seemed to no things that no one else did. She wasn't a seer, she just knew stuff. Her mother used to say there was probably fairy blood somewhere in the family tree. Luna knew they would be in the past for some time yet.

As winter melted into spring, flowers began to grow in the walled garden. Harry took to picking bouquets for Ginny. Ginny ended up buying several vases when the group visited Hogsmede so that she had somewhere to put the flowers Harry gave her.

Ron decided to go with Harry on one of his flower picking missions. The red haired boy picked a bouquet of his own, whilst the two boys chatted their way through the garden. The boys returned to the chambers to find the rest of their friends studying by the fire. Harry gave his wife the flowers he had picked. Ron held out the flowers he held.

"These are for you, Hermione," he said. Hermione's cheeks turned pink. This was the first act of Ron's courtship of Hermione. Apparently he had been inspired by Harry's courtship of Ginny to do the same with Hermione, who he had always had a crush on.


End file.
